Ugh, why does he keep posting those Saturday bike rides

Yet another Saturday, and yet another routine post from ol’ Nathan where he shows off his middling-at-best cycling route to no one in particular. His mom will like it. A sibling and friend or two might. But otherwise a clutter on your timeline, something to scroll past. He’s been doing it for years now and jeeze, come on, you proved your point you lost a lot of weight. Don’t you think it’s a bit much at this point?

Well, yeah ok I might be showing off a bit. But really, I hope I’m doing a bit more here. I hope I’m demonstrating something. That for most of my life, activities like this are exceptional. Something crazy people do. Something crazy people do because they’re sick in the head. Something crazy people, sick in the head, do to show off. But I hope that I’m demonstrating to people who are in the state that I was in for most of my life that this stuff CAN be made routine. That it SHOULD be routine. That it should be in the same category as showering, brushing teeth, etc… the accessories (bike, hiking shoes, camping equipment, etc) are just ways to make it more palatable.

But I won’t mislead anyone. It’s not simple. More than the physical work, it’s a massive psychological game. You’re always trying to outsmart yourself. Constantly trying to sabotage the demon. My point: it’s the new year! You want to make a change! That is so awesome. Go for it! I really hope it goes well for you, and I’d like to help. Here’s my resolution: in the coming weeks, I’d like to share my experiences. I can go into the details of what I did, sure. The portions, the calories, etc… but that’s such a small part of the story. Rather, I’d like to share the battles with myself. My observations on the process. I want you to know that you’re not imagining things when the task at hand seems bigger than you have the willpower for. How hard it is to maintain. How fitness is a mental struggle that sometimes overshadows the physical. You’re not alone!

This will not be a step-by-step. You can get everything you need to know about diet and exercise from the FDA or your doctor (there’s no magic, here. There’s no new magic “diet” that’s going to do anything different than the previous thousand). As mentioned, no real details to start. Just general ruminations, and maybe there is some tidbit in there that you can use.

This is also kinda selfish. This is a personal meditation. I really don’t feel special here -- thousands of people have gone through this same journey and I have nothing new to add to the body of knowledge. I’ve got a lot bottled up and it’d feel real good to get it “out there” even if no one reads it! May it drown in the vast sea of fitness blogs!

So! Onto the new year! Stay tuned!